


When the Highest Fall

by wormy_business



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Demon Gabriel (Good Omens), Other, and you inspire me, fun with falling, i see you cosplayers out there, ill add more tags in later chapters, much angst to come, once you hear his description, several people who have influenced what fallen gabe looks like, shout out to like, you'll probably know who you are
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-09-19 02:13:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20323393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wormy_business/pseuds/wormy_business
Summary: God does not tolerate those who question her, and those who go against her must be handled accordingly.





	1. The Turmoil Before the Storm

It was a question that had been plaguing Gabriel’s mind for weeks. Weeks of studying, going over notes and files and trying to sort out this entire mess of the non-armageddon. 

Why?

_ Why? _

Why would The Almighty plan something like this? What was the reason? Why would She let them all believe that war was coming? Why wouldn’t She tell them otherwise? Why lead everyone to believe in a lie?

It made Gabriel’s head ache, his heart race, and his throat tight. 

The display put on by Aziraphale, his own brother, didn’t help the situation. Damned if he admitted it but, it made him scared. For the first time in thousands of years, Gabriel felt the claws of fear digging deep into his heart and soul, and it made him tremble. 

He had to push it all down, he had to keep the facade of control over himself. He couldn’t let the others see the way his hands shook or his voice wavered. But the flashed of memories burned into his mind made him restless at all hours. Watching over six thousand years ago how his brothers and sisters and siblings had been devoured by flame, forced to watch as even the ones he was closest to were cast out of Heaven by Michael’s hand, watching as the flames engulfed their bodies and their screams of terror, begging for help, and reaching for his hand. 

Gabriel clutched his robes tightly, and one of his hands curled around a crucifix, one he always carried around his neck though usually hidden beneath his clothing. He could feel the warm light of his tears rolling down his cheeks, and in a sudden yet swift motion he swiped his arm across his desk sending papers and files flying over his office. He needed help, he _ needed _ support. Though his hands were shaking, he made the call. 

“At your earliest convenience, please meet me at our regular meeting place.” Gabriel spoke into the odd telecom-like system. His heart fluttered when he heard a reply come low from it’s speakers, accompanied by a brief sensation of relief. 

“Don’t keep me waiting.”

Over the many years of work, Gabriel had to occasionally call upon his counterpart in the opposition, if only to ensure everything was on track. Of course, things would escalate from time to time, and on occasion some times were more risque than others, but he would never admit to letting Beelzebub within five feet of his personal space. This call, however, was not for a business meeting. If anyone had any clue about what was going on, it would be Beelzebub. 

Gabriel manifested beneath an old tree in St. James’s park, taking a moment to look around at the humans going about their day to day lives, completely unaware of the fact the world could have ended just a few weeks ago. He took a breath and let himself take true material form. Now all he had to do was wait for Beelzebub to arrive. His head swiveled when he heard a distinctive buzzing, or more accurately, an entire swarm of flies converging in one central spot. The swarm grew in numbers and sound until it was nearly deafening, thankfully they had had the sense to ensure their body be inconceivable to humans before they made their arrival. The swarm looked nearly solid by the time beelzebub had taken full form, their earthly form. Gabriel chewed his cheek and hummed. In a strange way he preferred how they looked in Hell. perhaps because it was their truer self, or possibly because Gabriel just liked little nasty people. 

As Beelzebub approached, their form took a real solidity, making them visible to humans again, and Gabriel smiled at them.

“What’zz all thizz about then?” They asked, crossing their arms, shifting their weight to one side and popping their hip out as soon as they were near Gabriel.

“I just, I needed someone to talk to and I thought perhaps, you might have answers? Or, advice, at least?” 

Beelzebub rolled their eyes, adjusted their sash, and stuffed their hands in their pockets. “Fine, let’zz walk then.” 

Gabriel followed at Beelzebub’s side, watching them as they walked. Not even a few moments after they snapped their head up, lip curled in annoyance. 

“Zzay zzomething then!” They barked, making Gabriel shake his head slightly, clear his throat, and correct his posture.

“Right, I apologize.” he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. “I just, I’m so confused. I just, I can’t understand why She would do this.”

“There’zz no point in trying to underzztand her.” Beelz remarked with a rather condescending tone. “She never makezz any zzenzze.” 

“I would disagree with that, but, right now, She  _ isn’t _ making any sense. I am the highest ranking of all the Archangels, why would she not tell me about her apparent ineffable plans?”

“Becauzze the plan izz, in and of itzzelf, ineffable. If she had told you, that wouldn’t make it very ineffable, would it?”

“I, yes, I suppose you have a point but that doesn’t change the fact that it, well, it feels like She lied to us.”

“You shouldn’t zzay zzomething like that zzo loud, Gabe.” Beelzebub’s eyes flicked upwards to Gabriel’s before they continued with their stiff, confident stride. “You wouldn’t want her to get upzzet with you. Look at what happened to the rezzt of uzz.”

Gabriel looked down at his feet, not saying anything more as he continued walking by Beelzebub’s side. 

“It hurts, Beez. It hurts to know-”

“It hurtzz to fall.” Beelzebub spoke lowly in the kind of voice that made Gabriel shudder, both of them stopping in their tracks.

“I, I know-”

“You don’t!” they snapped, immediately gaining the attention of several groups of people. Beelzebub made a sort of buzzing sound that could almost be mistaken as a growl, and they raised their hand. As they snapped their fingers, Gabirel and themself were in an entirely new place.

A small room with a single bed, a nightstand, and a very unpleasant smell. The carpet was stained and the wallpaper was peeling, and there appeared to be water damage all over the corners of the room. 

“You will never underzztand the pain of falling!” Beelzebub shouted once more, drawing Gabriel’s attention back to them. “And for your own sake, Gabriel, I hope you never do.” There was a sound as Beelzebub was set back on the ground, Gabriel hadn’t even noticed they were floating, and they took a seat on the bed. 

Gabriel watched them, leaning against a dresser behind him. It was rare to see Beelzebub like this, to see them this vulnerable. They looked smaller, in a way they appeared softer, but most jarring was that the prince of Hell looked scared. They picked their head back up, looking Gabriel up and down before lowering their head again. 

“You shouldn’t azzk her why. You shouldn’t question her. Don’t let her know.  _ Please. _ ”

“Bee,” Gabriel whispered on a breath as he took a soft step towards them, “are you okay?” He asked just slightly louder as he sat himself next to Beelzebub.

“No.” They answered stiffly. “I am in pain, Gabriel.” They looked up, their eyes burning with intensity as they grabbed hold of the archangel’s hands. “Every zzingle day, I ache. I feel the burnzz on my back crack azz I wake, I feel the fire on my face azz boilzz rize to the zzurface, I feel my head pounding in the zzame zzpot, I feel the pain of my wingzz burning away in the hellfire. And I look at everyone else I’m around, at Dagon, at Hazztur, even when I looked at Crowley I could zzee pain. It never zztopz. It doesn’t juzzt end after the fall, the pain zztayz with you for eternity.” Thick, black tears were running down the demon’s face as they spoke, and Gabriel wasn’t sure whether he should wipe them away or bring Beelz in for an embrace he could see they so desperately needed. 

Before Gabriel could make a decision, however, they had stood up, removing themself completely from Gabriel’s reach. 

“Bee, I-”

“Don’t call me that, Gabriel.” They mumbled as they wiped their tears on their own. “I have to go back, okay? I’m still trying to sort this whole mess out. Juzzt, remember to keep quiet about your feelingzz on thizz. She izzn’t kind to those who question her.” Beelzebub swung the door to the room open and stepped outside, letting the door slam behind them.

With a heavy sigh, Gabriel rose to his feet and followed Beelzebub out the front door. They were greeted by nothing but a parking lot and several cars, no sign of Beelzebub in sight. He felt a few raindrops hit his face, and seconds later was caught in a downpour. He tried to search again for the prince of hell, but after only several seconds of being caught in the storm felt he had had enough. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again he was in his office, perfectly dry and warm. 


	2. The Descent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We're setting fire to angel wings.

Footsteps echoed in the enclosed space of the Archangel Gabriel’s office as he paced back and forth across the hard floor. His hands fiddled nervously with his white scarf, his mind racing with questions that had no conceivable answers. He reached into his shirt collar and brought his beloved crucifix out to rest atop his suit, though he clenched it tightly between his hands. His brow was furrowed in a way that made new creases form in his forehead, with a frown so deep it set new lines in his cheeks. Despite the paramount warning he had just received, he couldn’t calm his mind. The frustration was making him angry, and his grip on his necklace became white knuckled and shaking. 

From nowhere in particular, a light began to shine on Gabriel, and it stopped him completely. Every single facet of his being was invaded by warm, radiant light, and for a second he felt like his brain preformed a complete reset. 

“Gabriel.”

The voice that spoke was familiar, but in the kind of way when you aren’t sure exactly who’s speaking, except Gabriel knew exactly who was speaking. 

He fumbled briefly, hands dropping to his sides. “A-Almighty!” He stuttered, unsure of what to even say to Her. It had been so long since their last direct conversation, however Gabriel didn’t have to search for words for very long.

“Are you upset with me, Gabriel?” 

“I, upset? Oh, no! No, of course not, Your Holiness, I would never be-”

“You shouldn’t lie to me, Gabriel. You should know better.”

“Forgive me, Almighty I-”

“I’m disappointed in you, Gabriel.”

Gabriel felt his heart drop down into the pits of his stomach. His eyes went wider than they ever had before, and his throat got tight enough he stopped breathing.

“I’m going to have to have a talk with Michael about all of this.”

Gabriel hardly registered the light fading from his body, or the colour draining from his face. He wasn’t sure how long he was standing completely unmoving in his office, all he knew was that he suddenly heard a voice call from behind him.

“Gabriel.” 

He spun around on his heels, locking eyes with Micahel. She looked, in a way, sad. An expression he hadn’t seen her take in thousands of years, not since the first war. 

“Let’s go.”

She turned sharply, her heels clicking as she walked away, and Gabriel followed her obediently.

“What is this all about?” Gabriel asked as several angels turned away from him.

“I think you should know.” She responded sharply. 

They walked in silence until they reached a large room that looked down upon the celestial kingdom of Heaven. He was alone with Michael, until he felt another presence manifest in the room. She was shining bright, nearly blinding both archangels.

“You have lost your faith in me, Gabriel.” The voice should have originated from the light, but instead seemed to come from multiple voices in all corners of the room. 

Gabriel fell to his knees, he couldn’t find the strength to stand as Her words echoed in his chest. 

“You question my plans and my desires, and I have heard how you curse me.”

“I would never, Almighty! I admit, My Lord, I am frustrated among this mess caused by the eastern Principality and the demon-”

“You must take the blame, Gabriel. You are not the only one confused, but you are the only one who feels entitled to answers. You hold no entitlement to the knowledge of my plan.”

Gabriel was silent. He wasn’t sure if he should beg for forgiveness or try to explain himself, and his thoughts were racing so fast he couldn’t pick out any words to say.

“Michael, do as I have instructed you.” The light was gone as suddenly as She had arrived, and Michael bowed to where She once was. 

“Gabriel, stand up. It will make this easier on both of us.”

He stood slowly, hearing a click as a panel behind him opened. “Michael, please, don’t do this.”

She took a step towards him, and he took a step back.

“You have lost your faith, Gabriel.”

“Never! Michael, I’m begging you!”

“I cannot go against Her word, Gabriel.”

Two steps forward in her heels, two steps backwards in fine leather shoes.

“You’re my sister!”

“Not any more.”

“Please! I’m scared!” Gabriel shouted as he felt Michael place her hand on his chest. He began to rach up, to hold her arm in an attempt to secure himself, his heels kissing the edge of the platform he stood on. As his fingertips brushed Michael’s arm, she pushed back. He felt the shove, sharp and deep in his chest. He lost his balance, his hands desperately clutching at the air as he fell into a freefall.

Gabriel was staring up at the face of his sister, and she watched him as he began to plummet from the clouds. Filled with a sudden burst of adrenaline he deployed his wings, all three sets he was blessed enough to have been given, but they could not stop his fall. He began to turn in the air, unable to control his own body as it was cast down from the Heavens. He tried to beat his wings against the air current, only to feel the smallest and lowest pair snap. He screamed in agony for the first time in a long time, his throat immediately becoming hoarse and raspy. He crossed his arms in front of his face, as if to brace himself for a landing that began to feel like it would never come. As he moved his hands away, he began to burn. It hit his face first, and he watched as from a lake of fire the flames rose up to engulf him. He turned several more times in the air to no avail he ended up in the same position as before. He was making a headfirst spiral into the fires of hell. He felt his clothes being burned away, and his white angelic robes became stained with blackened ash. He screamed again as his body ignited within the fire, he could feel it tearing at his wings, limbs and face. He was clawing at his own skin in a feeble attempt to stop the pain, and for a brief second he saw he was about to make impact.

Beelzebub shot up in their bed, sending a number of flies up into the air. They were sweating, and dirty black sheets clung to their skin. Slowly they released their grip on their own chest and cursed as they stood up. What was going on with these nightmares? Why so many all of a sudden? They had nightmares pretty frequently, but ever since Crowley they had been getting worse, and now they were having nightmares of that day? It made their stomach churn in the most unpleasant way. With a snap of their fingers they were dressed, and not even a second later someone was knocking on their door. A second snap turned their bed back into a desk, sloppily piled with papers, files, and folders.

“What do you want?” They called out, adjusting their sash in a mirror.

“My Lord,” Dagon’s voice replied as the door to Beelzebub’s office creeped open. “There’s something you must see.”

“I’m a bit busy at the moment, Dagon.”

“I’m afraid this is rather urgent business, Lord Beelzebub. There’s been a fallen.”

Beelzebub made a quick, sharp turn on their heels, staring at Dagon with an intensity she hadn’t seen in years. “ _ Who? _ ”

Footsteps echoed down the hallowed halls of Hell’s office space, demons clung to walls to avoid being in the path of the fuming prince and their assistant. There was a mass of demons gathered around a single door, and with a swift motion of their hand, beelzebub threw them all aside. 

Screaming. Beelzebub’s heart sank when they heard it. They saw a figure thrashing in the lake of hellfire, and several other demons gathered around to try and view the newly christened demon. The form was moving to vigorously for Beelzebub to get a good look at them, and they stomped their foot on the ground out of frustration, quickly gaining everyone’s attention. 

“Dagon! Get them out  _ now _ !” They barked the order, and within the second Dagon has managed to grab hold of the figure and pull them out from the blazing lake of fire. 

Beelzebub loomed over the figure, feeling the knot in their chest grow larger. 

“Everyone out.” They spoke, perhaps a bit too quietly for their peers to understand, and when no one seemed to make a move for the exit they shot several feet into the air. Surrounded by a mass swarm of flies they screamed at the onlookers, “what are you waiting around for?! Back to work!” Which was all was needed to be said for the other demons to flee the area, leaving Beelzebub alone with the newly Fallen. 

As their feet touched the ground they heard soft whimpering coming from the figure, who was now laying in a fetal position on the ground. As they stepped closer they could tell the position was more so to keep themselves hidden than anything, but that wasn’t going to stand. 

“What did you do?” Beelzebub asked softly. They already knew it was him. The second Dagon had told them someone fell, they knew.

Gabriel looked up slowly, and the prince stepped forward quickly and ripped off a rosary that was burning into his forehead. He tried to protest, ut Beelzebub had already thrown it back into the lake of fire. 

Neither of them spoke. They both stared, wordless, at each other. What do you say to someone in that situation? What is there to say with words that isn’t already being conveyed by Gabriel’s look of hurt, of betrayal, and of Beelzebub’s look of disappointment, and fear.

Gabriel reached a hand up and grabbed the sides of head as he was overwhelmed by a sudden and intense headache. Blood was dripping down his face from a gash he’d received across the nose during his fall, his skin was burned and looked nearly bubbling, and his robes were black as ash. Beelzebub touched him gently on the shoulders, then guided him to his feet. They let his arms hang around their shoulders for support, and they began slowly walking him back to their office. Demons stared, and several whispered as they watched the two in tandem. Once they were safely in the confines of Beelzebub’s office, the door slammed shut and then faded into a stone wall.

“Zzit down.” They gave the soft spoken order, their desk a bed once again. “You’re remembering, aren’t you?”

Though Beelzebub was talking, Gabriel could barely hear them above the ringing in his ears. For a brief moment, they looked different. For just a second, they looked radiant, their skin smooth and soft, their hair neatly kept, and rays of pure golden light raised up from their head. Then the second was gone, and they looked just as they had before. 

“You,” Gabriel started a sentence with no ending, reaching a shaking hand out to Beelzebub.

“What’zz wrong?” Beelzebub asked, genuine concerned laced in their voice.

Their face was, flickering. Back and forth between the radiance and their true hellish form. The ringing in Gabriel’s ears became louder, so loud it made him double over. Faces of angels he had never known before, or rather, the faces he had forgotten, flashed in his mind and replaced the visions in memories of the demons.

Suddenly, his head shot up, his hand resting on Beelzebub’s cheek. He blinked, the ringing gone, and in a volume much louder than he had intended but still qualifying as a whisper he said, “Ramiel”.

He let out a cry as Beelzebub slapped him sharply across the face. He winced, his eyes shutting tightly, hand raised to his cheek where a red welt was already forming. 

“I’m sorry!” He whimpered, pressing his chin to his chest.

Beelzebub backed down, though their brow was furrowed tightly in the center of their forehead. 

“You can’t call me that.” They said sternly. “Ramiel izz dead. That angel died the zzecond Michael cazzt me down.” Beelzebub turned their head away from Gabriel just as he had moved his head back up to look at Beelzebub. “Zzpeaking of, what’zz your name now?”

Gabriel blinked, and then blinked a few more times, and then rubbed his eyes. “What do you mean?” 

“Michael, what name did she give you?”

“She, she didn’t. She just, threw me out.”

Beelzebub saw as Gabriel’s hands tightened into fists at the mention of Michael, the way he spoke through clenched teeth about her, and he smelled overall like anger. His anger was a mix of fire, cinder, the burning rubber of a jammed printer, and an overflowing cap of printer ink. It was an odd combination yet, Beelzebub found it oddly alluring. They stepped forward, tracing their fingers on the outline of Gabriel’s cut. His blood stained the tips of their fingers, and he stared at them, confusion plastered on his face.

“What are you, ow!” Gabriel pulled back when Beelzebub touched a more sensitive area, only to have them pull him back closer.

“It’ll heal. Dezzpite everything, I muzzt zzay I’m excited to zzee how you’ll look.” Beelzebub lightly tapped his nose, leaving a bit of his blood on it. They then raised their finger to their mouth and licked Gabriel’s blood from them.

“That’s, where is all this coming from, Bee?”

“What did Michael say to you?”

His scent flared up again, and Beelzebub took a moment to breathe it in as the newly fallen spoke.

“She didn’t say anything! I, I was, and she said she was just doing as told. Bullshit! She threw me back, she pushed me out! I was faithful, I was always faithful!”

The angrier Gabriel became, the stronger his scent was. It hung in the air, sick and sweet, and Beelzebub was the only one around to drink it all in. 

“She looked me in the eyes, and she pushed me down.” He grumbled, his fists tight and white knuckled. His eyes were burning. Their usual gentle lilac pigment now a fiery mix of orange, red, and yellow. They seemed to shimmer and shift, the colours sliding over each other and boiling to the top of his irises in asymmetrical fashion. 

“You had always been so, well behaved.” Beelzebub spoke in his ear, his provocating tone soft and sultry.

“I make one mistake!” Gabriel burst as he shot up from the bed, now pacing around Beelzebub’s office. “I ask Her one simple question and She tears me down! I never said i was entitled to know, I just wanted answers!” He was nearly screaming as his wings unfurled from his back. They broke through his skin and lit up the office. They crackled and sparked, extending out to the walls, and Gabriel took to his knees.

Beelzebub stood in amazement, their eyes wide with wonder. They had never seen a pair of wings look so delicate, yet so fierce and incredible on a demon. Smoke rose from the two pairs of wings that had burst from Gabriel, wings made of the fires of hell, they smoked and burned with the same intensity and rage Gabriel held in his blackening heart, sparked by the betrayal of the fall, and fueled by his frenzy.


	3. Hard Adjustments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabriel isn't taking very well to his new situation.

Gabriel looked up, his fiery wings pulsing in rhythm with his heartbeat. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” He asked, his face twisting in confusion.

Beelzebub didn’t speak, they couldn’t. They didn’t have the words in their vocabulary to articulate the beauty they saw in Gabriel’s new wings. Instead, they snapped their fingers and suddenly they were supporting a full length mirror. Gabriel recoiled at first when he saw himself, then slowly leaned forward again. He ran his fingers over the gash in his face, that had thankfully stopped bleeding. He then turned his head at an awkward angle, the kind that would make you dizzy if you stayed that way for too long, and looked at his wings as he gave them a light beat. He could still control them, which was nice. He wasn’t entirely sure why he wouldn’t have control over his own wings, but he was glad he did. Turning back to the mirror he gingerly touched the inverted cross burned into his forehead. His fists tightened, his wings glowing brighter and hotter. The tips turned a blueish white as they burned with intensity.

“No.” 

Beelzebub moved the mirror aside and watched Gabriel rose to his feet.

“What do you mean, “no”?” They asked, crossing their arms as a suit manifested itself on Gabriel. 

“I will not let this be my downfall.”

“You shouldn’t, your wingzz are the mozzt-”

“I’m not talking about my wings, Beelzebub!” Gabriel snapped, the fire growing hotter. “I going to have what none of you ever could.” He was smirking the exact way that made Beelzebub feel sick and angry.

“What in the nine layerzz are you talking about?”

“I am going to have my redemption.”

Beelzebub stood in shock for a moment, staring at Gabriel with a confused expression. “Beg your pardon?”

“I am going to be redeemed. She will take me back, you’ll see!”

“She won’t ever take you back! Never hazz she ever taken anyone back. Don’t do thizz, Gabriel.”

“You cannot stop me!” Gabriel declared, slamming his foot on the ground as his wings grew even brighter and hotter. “She will forgive me, I know She will! You’re right, Bee! I was always so good to Her! Surely if I beg Her forgiveness, She will take me back into Heaven!”

“No, she won’t! I have zzeen countlezzz demons spend ages denouncing Hell and Satan, and none of them-”

“I’m different!”

“Let me finish zzpeaking! None of them have ever been forgiven, and all of them dezztroyed themzzelvezz in the hopezz she would zzave them after dezztruction. You are fallen, Gabriel. She doezz not care about you any longer.”

“You’re wrong! I’ll prove it to you!”

Beelzebub was becoming impatient, as displayed by the rapid tapping of their foot and the growing swarm of flies. “Gabriel, you are making a mizztake, a  _ huge _ mizztake! I don’t want to but I will force you down here if I must.”

“You can’t hold me down, I’m the archangel- GAH!”

Gabriel was forced down to his knees as chains wrapped around him. They weren’t just holding his physical form, they were sinking into his soul. The chains had risen from the ground and the walls by Beelzebub’s doing, and essentially were holding Gabriel in place.

“You aren’t an archangel anymore. You are below me. You are no longer my equivalent.”

Gabriel pulled against his bindings, only to find the more he moved the tighter they became. He cursed under his breath, then snapped his head up to glare daggers at Beelzebub. However, they were looking away.

“You can’t do this to me! You have to let me go, now!”

“I can’t! You’re going to hurt yourzzelf! I’m zzorry, Gabriel, but thizz hazz to happen. I hope you can forgive me.”

Before he could question what they had meant, the floor beneath Gabriel began to lower. He was moved down, now held by chains all sunk into the ground beneath him. He opened his eyes only when the rumbling stopped. He was caged, like some sort of animal. Looking forward all he saw were the bars to his new prison, which had no conceivable door. Not yet, at least.

The chains dug deep into Gabriel’s flesh and soul as he struggled against his restraints. He could feel his blood slicking his wrists and ankles, surely coating the chains yet not aiding in making them any looser. The fire that made up his new wings had died down long ago, he had to focus his energy in his attempt to escape this prison. If only he could remove the chains, then he may be able to find a way out. He knew this place, he had seen it before and had assumed it was no longer of use. This place was once used to held Angels, captives of war, here their miracles would never come to fruition. However, he wasn’t an angel, not yet he wasn’t, but he would be once again. He had spent over six thousand years in service to the Almighty, and hell be damned if he wasn’t going to live out the rest of his days in service to Her. 

He pulled against his restraints, feeling them tighten around his limbs again, the chains cut deeper into his wrists. His pained groan seemed to echo in the chamber of his prison. 

Gabriel wasn’t entirely sure how much time he had spent in solitary confinement, or if he had even been conscious by the end of it, but he blinked a few times and his eyes slowly opened. They were more yellow than orange, and more orange than red, and the red that remained stayed in outline of his pupils. He could hear buzzing as his senses returned to him. Buzzing and the sounds of someone typing at a computer. He moved to sit up slowly, and nearly hesitated when he felt pressure around his wrists. As he looked, he saw the chains were gone and in their place was bandages.

“You’re awake.” Beelzebub’s familiar voice called to him, drawing Gabriel’s attention to where they sat at their desk.

“What happened?”

“You nearly killed yourzzelf in zzolitary confinement, like an idiot.”

Gabriel blinked at Beelzebub, not knowing exactly how to respond. His memory was hazy, and he was having a rather difficult time remembering what had happened.

“We can’t have you dizzcorporating yet, you’ve only juzzt arrived.” Beelzebub stared back at Gabriel, who remained unspeaking. “I thought you would’ve zztopped zztruggling once you began to realize the more you moved the more intenzze the pain.”

Gabriel looked down at his arms again, at the bandages that had been wrapped carefully around his wrists. “Why would you keep me there?”

“Well, I didn’t. You’re lucky I found you when I did.”

“That used to be the angel prison. Is that what it’s used for now?”

“Yezz.” Beelzebub’s answer seemed to shock Gabriel.

“That’s sick.”

“You’re in hell! You’re fallen! Get uzzed to it!” Beelzebub snapped at him, then sighed and raised a hand to rub their temples. “Onzze in a while, zzomeone’zz zzoul hazz to be, well, broken. And frankly, you were very clozze to breaking.”

“Why not let it break me? Isn’t that what you want?”

“Don’t be zztupid!” Beelzebub snapped at Gabriel again, this time their flies began swarming around their head and buzzing intensely. 

Gabriel sat, somewhat awestruck, staring at Beelzebub.

“I juzzt, you dizzcorporating would be a lot of paperwork that I don’t want to have to do, and when your new body getzz issued it’d be in the zzame zztate azz it izz now and then it would take even longer for you to heal and-”

“Bee!” Gabriel shouted to end their rambling as he stood up, until his head started spinning and he plopped back down onto the bed, clutching the sides of his head.

“Don’t, don’t do that.” Beelzebub chided, though their tone was soft, and the swarm died down some. 

“It’s okay, I’m fine.” Gabriel dismissed them. “Look, I just, I need to go up.” Gabriel pointed at the ceiling.

“I, I can’t let you. We don’t let redemption zzeekerz leave our zzight. Not after what happened to Baraqijal.” 

Gabriel’s brow furrowed, trying to read Beelzebub’s face. It was faint, but he could see a hint of sadness in their eyes.

“What happened to Baraqijal?” He asked quietly, just loud enough to be heard over the sound of the constant buzzing. 

“He taught the Babylonians about the stars, and spread his knowledge to the Egyptians. He thought, teaching the humans of the blessed creations of god’s angels would redeem him. He thought she would like for the humans to know about the star systems. He was wrong.”

There was a distinct distance in Beelzebub’s eyes, and a certain detachedness in their tone. It didn’t take much for Gabriel to discern what had almost certainly happened to the demon. 

“Gabriel.”

He turned his head up, he hadn’t even realized he was looking down. “Yes?”

“I need you to understand that she will never take you back.”

Their words dropped down on Gabriel like weights, causing his shoulders to slouch and his face to drop. “I, I just,”

“Baby.”

His heart skipped a beat as he felt Beelzebub’s weight sink down next to him on the bed.

“You have to lizzen to me.” They spoke softly, their calloused hands and rough fingertips caressing Gabriel’s face. “I know it’zz hard. It izzn’t a fate you want to accept, but thizz izzn’t juzzt a bad dream you can wake up from. She izz cruel and unjuzzt.”

Gabriel reached up to take their hands, squeezing them tightly as tears rolled down his cheeks and mixed with the blood from his wound. He was starting to shake as he fought against his emotions.

“Gabey.” They spoke just as softly, but now right next to Gabriel’s ear. “Pleazze don’t cry. I don’t like zzeeing you cry.” Their voice fell to a whisper as they gently pressed their lips to his cheek. 

“I’m sorry.” Gabriel whispered, his hands holding tighter onto Beelzebub’s. 

“No. I don’t want you to be sorry.” Beelzebub began speaking a little louder, pulling a hand away from Gabriel’s grasp to wipe the tears from his eyes. “I want you to be angry.” 

Gabriel looked up at Beelzebub, his eyes beginning to flare in heavy orange. 

“I, I’ll let you go up.” They said with a sigh, earning a smile from Gabriel. “On one condition.”

“Yes, of course, what is it?”

“You have to let a piece of me go with you.” 

Gabriel looked confused, his head tilting to one side. “That’s, fine I suppose.”

“Good. Are you ready?”

“I, well, yes I suppose I a-” 

Gabriel was cut off by Beelzebub pressing their lips to his, their hands finding a place on his waist, and their tongue pushing into his mouth. 

Gabriel shuddered, slowly resting his hands down on their shoulders. They had never gone this far before.

The moment of bliss was instantly cut off by the feeling of something getting just a little too close to Gabriel’s ear, causing him to immediately jerk away. 

“What was-”

“Ah ah, shh, just come here.” 

Beelzebub grabbed the collar of his dark suit and pulled him in again. Gabriel was again briefly swept by the rather passionate kiss he received from Beelzebub, but began squirming as soon as he felt the same sensation begin to crawl inside his ear. Beelzebub’s tight grip on his clothes forced him to be still, even as he could hear the legs of something scratch against his ear canal, and finally come to a rest against his eardrum. 

When Beelzebub released him his head was spinning, and he had an awful high pitched ringing in his ear. His hand was swatted away when he tried to raise it to his ear, and he stared pathetically at Beelzebub.

“Don’t touch it, it’zz one of mine.”

Gabriel looked like he was going to vomit.

“If you want to go up that’zz how you’re going to go up!” Beelzebub remarked flippantly, returning to their desk. “I’ll be able to hear and see from itzz perzzpective, so you bezzt behave yourzzelf. Now go on.”

Gabriel sighed and stood slowly. He straightened out his suit, took a few breaths, and headed for the elevator. 


	4. A Tense Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabriel goes looking for help from familiar faces, but those faces don't find him so familiar.

Gabriel tensed as he stepped out onto the street. It was bright, must have been midday. Despite all the hellfire, the offices of hell were rather dark, and his colour shifting eyes had become rather used to it. As he raised his arm to shield his eyes he felt a sudden sharp pain rip up from the small of his back, reaching all the way to his fingertips. He winced, his face contorting. The pain started right where his wings used to be, the smallest pair that had broken during his free fall. As his face twisted, he felt a different kind of pain, this one more stiff and cracking as the wound on his face opened once more and he felt blood trickling down his cheek. His whole body began to ache as he took a few steps onto the sidewalk, leaving behind him a trail of dripping blood from not only his face, but his wrists where the chains had dug so deeply. Part of him felt a tugging, a desire to return to the relative safety of Beelzebub’s office, but he persisted forward. He remembered the way, didn’t he? His hands tightened into fists as he walked, his shoulders tense and his head aching. The further from Hell’s fire, it seemed, the more intense his pain would become.

Crowley was lazing around in the back office of Aziraphale’s bookshop. With the crisis of the armageddon averted, and Heaven and Hell off their backs, he felt he finally had a chance to relax. He wished Aziraphale would relax with him, but he was fine letting him run around the bookshop and entertain. His body was warmed by the light of the sun streaming into a window, his glasses sitting on his chest, one of his arms behind his head, and his legs splayed out in a way that would look uncomfortable to any normal human. He hummed softly as he released a breath he hadn’t even realized he was holding. He smiled, hearing the office door open and close.

“How’s business, Angel?”

“Oh, doing just fine.” Aziraphale responded, taking a moment to gaze softly at Crowley, whos attention was fixated out of the window.

“That’s good.” Crowley noted, finally turning to look at Aziraphale, who seemed to be searching for something. “We should go out for-” Crowley stopped mid sentence and dawned his glasses, which gained Aziraphale’s attention.

“Go out for what, Crowley?” He tried enticing the demon into continuing his thought.

“Ahh, yeah, hold on.” Crowley moved awkwardly until he was standing up, and he slunked to the door, cracking it open. His nostrils flared, and his tongue escaped from his lips for just a second. That was most definitely the smell of a demon.

“Angel.” He spoke softly, shutting the door. “We’ve got company. I don’t,” He stuck his tongue out again, making a rather bewildered face. “I don’t recognize them. Which is, I mean I know just about everyone down there.” 

“It’s, oh, how odd.” Aziraphale crept closer to the door, and to Crowley. It was much harder to discern, to him practically all demons smelled the same, though Crowley’s was a tad more distinct. But the smell of evil coming from his dearest Crowley and whoever had just entered the bookshop were too similar.

“Leave it to me, alright? I can handle this.” 

“Crowely, wait!” Aziraphale placed his hand on Crowley’s chest to stop him. “Don’t you think, perhaps we should, you know?” Aziraphale was extending his hand out to Crowley, his eyes full of worry and his tone dripping with anxiety.

“No, no, angel, I’ll be alright. Besides, only one of em. If they try anything, step in. Nothing we can’t handle.”

Before Aziraphale could protest again, Crowley was in the main area of the bookshop. He watched from the doorway as Crowley walked in that distinct way he did to the stranger.

“Can I help you with-” Crowley cut himself off again as he stared at who was leaning against a wall, dripping with blood and in clear pain and distress. He removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “In the name of, what, what is, ehh, all of, this?” He motioned lazily to Gabriel, who picked his head up to smile weakly at Crowley. “When did all this happen?”

“I, I want to speak to Aziraphale.” Gabriel stammered as he tried to take a step forward, his knees weak and trembling. 

“Aah, that’s not, a good idea.” Crowley awkwardly placed his hands on Gabriel’s shoulders, keeping him not only from walking forward, but from falling as well. “It’s not even a good idea for you to be up here, look at the state of you!” 

“He’s my brother!” Gabriel choked on his protest, too weak to shake Crowley off of him.

“Crowley, you must tell me what is going on this instant!” Aziraphale demanded from behind him, trying to get a look at whoever he was struggling with.

“Aziraphale!” Both of the demons called out to him, one much more desperately than the other.

The angel took a sharp breath in and stepped back from the pair. “Why do you know my name? Who are you and what business have you in my shop?”

Crowley could see the heartbreak on Gabriel’s face. His expression, slack-jawed, wide eyed, and pained. Tears brimmed at the corners of his eyes as the realization hit him square in the chest, ripping his breath from his lungs. 

No matter how different he seemed, no matter that hellfire could no longer hurt him, Aziraphale was still an angel, and angels are not permitted to remember the fallen. 

“Don’t worry, angel!” Crowley chirped, slowly dragging Gabriel back towards the office. “Just need a few private words with my friend here, nothing to worry about!”

Aziraphale straightened out his jacket and watched as the two passed him. He was going to have to have a serious talk with Crowley about lying later, but he supposed it wouldn’t help at all to intrude again, in fact he quite regretted walking in on the two just now. Seeing that demon, there was something about him, a painful familiarity he couldn’t quite place his finger on.

Crowley was surprisingly easy with Gabriel, sitting him down with less force than expected in a chair in Aziraphale’s office. Once Gabriel was down, Crowley took a seat himself, having a dragged a chair to be across from his.

“That’s why I said you shouldn’t talk to him.” Crowley chided.

“Oh, can it!” Gabriel snapped, sitting stiffly in the chair, still dripping blood.

“No point in arguing now. So, what’s the name?”

“It’s still Gabriel.”

“Aww, oh no, don’t tell me you’re one of those redemption seekers.”

“Beelzebub has already warned me against it. Besides,” he raised a finger to tap the ear in which a fly was comfortably nestled, “they’re keeping an eye on me.”

Crowley gagged, briefly turning his head away. “Awck, I hate when they do that, feels so nasty in there.”

There was a silence between the two for a moment, neither of them speaking though both wanted to.

“So did Michael just, what, give you a stupid name or, what?”

“She didn’t.”

Crowley furrowed his brow as he leaned closer. “Well, that’s not like her at all.” He mused. “She’s a bitch anyway, in my opinion.”

Gabriel sneered at him as Crowley leaned back in his chair again.

“Well she is.” He rolled his shoulders, trying to make them as loose as his defense was. “She remembers us all. I know she does. She’s some weird exception.”

“How are you so sure?” Surely if Aziraphale couldn’t even remember Gabriel, Michael wouldn’t either.

Crowley was silent for a moment as he pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. “She almost called me “Raphael” once. Got halfway through before realizing her mistake.”

Gabriel was quiet for a moment. He could feel the pressure in his chest from where she had placed her hand and pushed him. He could see her face, peering over the edge and watching him fall, and he swore he could remember seeing her smile just before he opened his wings.

“Cool down, hothead, we don’t need the shop to burn again!”

Crowley’s words snapped him out of his haze. He looked down at his hands, they were red and smoke was rising from them, and also from the burned insignia of an inverted cross in the center of his forehead. This was wrong. It was all wrong.

It should’ve been water.

His eyes burned a fierce red, yellow and orange retreated back towards his pupils as new shades of red formed and moved inside of his irises. 

He could remember so clearly water running over his blue-tinted hands, sliding it between his fingers as he filled paperwork, amusing himself by pushing it back and forth in a bowl or cup, that was his nature.

Fire felt wrong. It was compulsive, unstable, and erratic. Gabriel was none of those things. At least, he didn’t used to be.

He closed his eyes and took a few long breaths. Breathing was not a necessary thing for beings such as angels and demons, but it helped to calm him enough that he felt he wasn’t about to set the entire strip ablaze. 

“What am I supposed to do now?” Gabriel asked, dejected and cold.

“Come to terms, move on, and raise some hell.”

He stared at Crowely, who had taken to lounging in his chair. 

“It’s what I did. It’s not gonna do you any good to reminisce on the old days when none of the angels are ever gonna remember who you were or what you accomplished.”

Raphael had been a starmaker, Gabriel could remember that now. He had worked on constellations and galaxies, but he was most proud of his work on nebulas. The angel Muriel was the one who had been listed as creating the art that came from Raphael’s hands, when in fact she had only had a hand in the creation of the Constellation of Cancer. 

“Over six thousand years I served Her.”

“And now those thousands of years of service belong to Uriel, Michael, Sandalphon, Metatron, Jegudiel, Ariel, anyone except you. You’ve been wiped from their history.”

Gabriel stood, though unsteady on his feet. 

“Careful.” Crowley reminded him as he grabbed the wall for support. “You should really head back down. Get close to the fire, you’ll heal faster. And do let me know when you’ve got the name figured out!” Crowley called these things after Gabriel, who managed to make it out of the front door and back onto the streets of London.

“Dear boy, who was that?” Aziraphale asked, sliding up in front of Crowley.

“An old friend, I’ll tell you about him later.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this one felt a little slower but I wanted Gabe to see Crowley and Aziraphale. I promise the next chapter will be more exciting, plus I'll probably be revealing what Gabriel's animal will be then.


	5. Familiars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Memories begin to return, and Gabriel is chosen.

Gabriel spent the next two weeks pacing in Beelzebub’s office, steaming in his own rage. There were many occasions in which Beelzebub had to calm him back down again, so he would not overexert and hurt himself. He at least had a chance to heal, at least most of the way. The slash across his nose and cheeks was gone within the day, leaving only a burn scar that ran up from his neck to his temple on the right side of his face However, in place of the wound caused by bashing his face into several rocks before rolling into the lake of fire, were a different kind of burn scar. Approximately 15 symbols of the inverted cross were burned into his face, each from when his crucifix had flown up and hit him on his way down. Though Beelzebub thought they were a nice touch, Gabriel was adamant that he detested them. The beginnings of horns were also beginning to poke through his forehead. When they first pushed through the skin Gabriel had spent about an hour screaming in pain, until he finally managed to conjure a blade and cut himself open to allow them passage. They were small as of now, only a few inches long, but Beelzebub assured him they would get longer soon.

On top of his healing wounds, he would get flashes of memories as demons would come in and out of the office in search of assistance. The first came with Dagon. Once when she entered to retrieve certain paperwork from Beelzebub, he swore he could see her long white hair that would have dragged by her feet, her radiant halo that extended its reach out to the sky, and something reminiscent of a clipboard in her hands. Pravuil, scribe and record keeper to God. She had been the first to tell the Morningstar of the apparent plans for the end of Her creations, which she hadn’t even finished creating yet.

The second was Hastur, and by association Ligur. Hastur had come to Beelzebub to air certain complaints he had, and for a second Gabriel had flashed back to seeing two archangels walking through Heaven. Kushiel with Sarathiel around his arm. The two of them had always been rather close. Sarathiel’s hair seemed to shimmer, always changing colours and bending light around it. He had always preferred his hair to be short, suppose some things never changed. Kushiel seemed to prefer his light blonde-ish hair above his shoulders, both of them stood out amongst most of the angels at the time for their preference, though there was nothing wrong with it. Neither of them had specific assignments, and thus spent most of their time in each others company and with the other angels. Of course, that’s how they got involved with  _ him _ . 

There were many times Gabriel saw Ramiel instead of Beelzebub. He would often stare during these times, which thoroughly annoyed the prince of Hell, who would give him a smack with whatever they had in arms reach, usually a stack of papers, but he couldn’t help himself. They had been rather close before the rebellion. Gabriel acted mostly as a messenger in those early days, and Ramiel had been one of Her watchers. 

_ Gabriel’s wings slowed as his feet touched the ground lightly, landing nearby to the angel Ramiel and their brother who both turned to look at him. Gabriel smiled, a feature that was quickly becoming a trademark of his.  _

_ “Ramiel, I have some very exciting news for you!” _

_ Ramiel took a few steps towards Gabriel. “Archangel Gabriel, always a pleasure to see you. What is this news you have brought?” _

_ Gabriel extended a hand, in which he was holding a letter addressed to the shorter angel before him. He watched as they read the words, their iridescent blue eyes and gold markings brightening as they read it. They turned to look at their brother, bouncing on their toes and hardly able to contain their excitement.  _

_ “Raphael!” They exclaimed as they ran back to their brother, “I’ve been moved onto creation!”  _

_ “You, what? Really?!” The red-haired angel asked before catching his sibling in an embrace. “That’s so exciting!”  _

Gabriel blinked as he watched Beelzebub writing. They looked so different, yet so similar at the same time. Something about them looked so damn tired.

_ “Gabriel! I’ve been looking for you everywhere!”  _

_ Gabriel laughed softly as Ramiel ran up to him and hugged him tightly.  _

_ “Sorry dear, had to run a message all the way to Hadraniel, and the second gate is so far away from here.” _

_ “You’ve got six wings, don’t those make it easier?” Ramiel teased, lightly tapping their finger against Gabriel’s nose.  _

_ “Not exactly.” Gabriel laughed, lifting his hand to take Ramiel’s. “How has creation been?” _

_ “It’s so much fun! Watching was kinda boring in comparison. You wanna see what I’ve made?” _

_ “Of course, dearest.” _

_ The two angels walked hand in hand, the smaller nuzzled up close to their partner. They’d been doing this pretty much since Ramiel had been moved onto creation. Of course they had been close before that, but they had never been able to spend as much time together. They moved into Ramiel’s work space, and immediately insects began buzzing about. That was their specific department, flying insects. Their work space was a green room, reminiscent of what Her first garden was going to look like. Several butterflies landed on both angels. They had been Ramiel’s first creation, and so were rather fond of them and whoever they had with them.  _

_ “I’m really excited about the newest addition!” Ramiel finally detached themself from Gabriel’s side and lead him to a patch of bluish purple flowers. Gently, they guided their newest creation into their hands and held it out for Gabriel to inspect. _

_ It had sheer, delicate looking wings, six legs, and a fat little body covered in yellow and black fuzz.  _

_ “It’s cute.” Gabriel mused, lifting his hand to allow the creature to crawl onto his hand.  _

_ “I’ve decided to call them Bumblebees. What do you think?” _

_ “Bumblebee?” Gabriel asked, tilting his head to the side. “I think that you can’t make anything without it being absolutely adorable.” _

_ Ramiel blushed, their cheeks flushing and gold markings shimmering. “Oh, Gabey! Stoop!” They whined with the kind of inflection that would suggest they didn’t want Gabriel to stop. “You’re making me blush.” _

_ Gabriel let the bee crawl back to the bed of flowers, and wrapped his arms around the angel. “You’re  _ my _ little bumblebee.” _

_ “Gabey!!” They whined a bit louder as they were pulled closer to the Archangel. “You are so corny.” _

_ “Aw, c’mon! How can I not call you something so adorable?” The two laughed lightly, then gazed at each other for what felt like an eternity, slowly drawing nearer until their lips touched.  _

“Bumblebee. . .” Gabriel mumbled, yet loud and clear enough for Beelzebub to hear.

They responded to him without even really processing what he had just said. “Yezz?” It was only after their response that they had fully comprehended what Gabriel just said. 

Both of them stared at each other for a moment, neither of them wanting to address the situation. 

“Sorry I just, I was thinking about-”

“Well zztop thinking! Pleaze.” Beelzebub’s defensive tone dropped off with their plea. “I can’t, I can’t deal with you conzztantly thinking about who I waz! It doezzn’t matter anymore! Beelzebub was shouting now, which in turn caused Gabriel to shrink back away from them. “Ramiel izz  **dead** ! Ramiel waz  **killed** by their own mother, thrown down from Heaven by their own zzizzter, and  **killed** ! Ramiel wazz deceived and manipulated by Lucifer to do hizz bidding!” Their flies were swarming in a great number around their head, and buzzed louder when Beelzebub had spoken specific words. 

“I’m sorry.” Gabriel spoke calmly, gently,trying to bring Beelzebub down from their rant. 

It seemed to work, as their flies settled some and they sat next to Gabriel on the bed they had decided they needed to keep in their office. 

“Hold out your hand.” Beelzebub instructed Gabriel, who followed the order cautiously.

“Why? What is this for?”

“I think it will help put to rezzt your curiozzity.”

Beelzebub grabbed his hand and both of their auras extended out around them. There was a brief second, and then light.

Lucifer reached his hand out and placed it heavy on Gabriel’s shoulder. 

“We don’t have to follow Her rules, Rami.” He spoke lowly. Gabriel looked down at himself, trying to understand what was happening, only to have his chin lifted back up.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to go against the Almighty.” Gabriel’s voice was speaking, but they weren’t words he was thinking.

“Even Raphael is questioning the decision! You don’t think it’s a little ridiculous to spend so much time creating a world full of people and animals, only to plan out how you’re going to destroy it?”

“I never said that. I do think it’s, rather odd but-”

“It’s stupid!”

“Lucifer! Don’t say that!”

“It is, and you know it. Rami, you can help me. You, me, and all the other angels who think this is ridiculous. We’re going to go to Her and ask Her to explain Herself.”

“No.” Gabriel felt himself stand up, and he finally got the chance to look at himself properly. He had had his suspicions, but the look of the robes he wore confirmed it. He was viewing Beelzebub’s memories. “Storming to God and demanding answers is even stupider than what She may be doing.”

“That’s too bad.” Gabriel looked back up as a firm pair of hands grabbed his face, eyes staring intently into his soul. “Because you’re going to help me whether you want to or not.” His vision went dark. There were flashes, brief moments where he was in control of his body again. Screaming, anger, fear, tears, sadness, blood, war, battle, light.

The light was nearly blinding as Gabriel looked around in a panic. In an instant he was hit with the memories he had been a passenger to. Awake in his body, but never in control. He had been Lucifer’s little puppet. And now, he was to stand trial. 

He began kicking and thrashing as two Archangels dragged him closer to Michael.

“Michael!” he screamed out, trying but failing to reach out to her as his arm was yanked back. “Michael, please you have to believe me! Lucifer did something to me, he took control of me!”

“You would like me to believe that, wouldn’t you?” Michael asked in a rather condescending tone. “There is no atonement for your sins, Ramiel.You slaughtered your fellow angels, you questioned God, and you lead directly under the Fallen Lucifer. You shall meet that same fate. You are no longer Ramiel, watcher and creator under God. You are hereby to be known as Ba’Al. You are sentenced to Falling.” 

Something opened beneath Gabriel, and in an instant he was caught in a freefall. He reached back up to heaven, his delicate, iridescent wings useless against the wind current. His hands both stretched upwards as he cried and screamed for salvation, screamed for his beloved. Gabriel called his own name from the perspective of Ramiel. 

As soon as the experience began, it ended. Both demons were sat on the bed, and both of their auras retreated back within their souls. Beelzebub and Gabriel both sat, staring at their hands for a long time, until Gabriel finally spoke. 

“You, you didn’t,”

“He took control of my mind and my body. I was in the backseat of my own goddamn body. I couldn’t do anything to stop him, but Michael wouldn’t hear it.” 

They were both quiet again.

“You and Crowley, you both fell for the same reason. And Michael was just as cold as she had always been.”

They both looked up at each other, and silently both wrapped their arms around the other. 

Neither of them wanted to speak, neither of them had very good things to say, but they both wanted to be closer. Minutes dragged on, which became hours. Those hours turned into something rather passionate, something rather debaucherous, something that once, a long time ago, neither of them would have even ever considered doing with each other. As the hours ended, they both hit the bed, both of them sweating, and both of them covered in bite marks, hickeys, and scratches. Their arms found each other again, and they both slipped off into sleep. 

Gabriel opened his eyes. This was certainly different. The space he was in was constantly shifting, red, orange and yellow colours falling and slipping over each other as the shades rose and fell. It was almost like being inside of a lava lamp, and in a way the space greatly resembled his new eyes. He looked around, but there wasn’t much to see. The walls and floor seemed to blend together, their curves obscured from vision, making it appear that one was simply floating amidst the rising and falling colours. The floor was there, however, as Gabriel was standing on it. 

_ “Is this what a dream is?” _ He wondered to himself as he began walking forward.  _ “What is so appealing about this?” _

Thoughts floated through his mind as effortlessly as the colours around him, until he tripped over something. When he fell forward, he did not land on his face as he had expected, having thrown his hands up over his face. Instead, he began floating, and he continued to float upwards until he touched a hard surface. He curled his knees up to touch the surface, and as they made contact gravity switched, and he was once again on the floor of this weird space. Before him, was a rock. Only now he felt that the floor was wet, or perhaps it had only just become wet. Looking around, Gabriel squinted and reached a hand slowly out to run his fingers across the surface of the rock. It was entirely unassuming, other then the fact it was a bright red that blended in rather well with his surroundings. It wasn’t very large, about the size of his hand, and it was wet where the warm water ran around it. He grasped the sides with both hands, and with nothing else to do in this space, picked it up. There was nothing beneath the rock. Just the stream of water which had seemingly appeared from nowhere. As he was going to set the rock down, he noticed something attached to the underside. He set the rock upside down, and leaned closer to get a better look. It was hard to describe the wet sack attached to the rock. It was somewhat clear with a yellow tint, and something round and white sat in the center. He poked it with his finger. It felt a little slimy, which made him recoil. Now, the white round object had a little more form. It was slightly elongated, with a tail that tapered off the end. His brow furrowing, Gabriel reached out again, this time removing the slimy, wet sack from the rock. The more he touched it, the more the white object in the center changed. The sack was about the size of his palm, and the once tiny white ball now had four little legs that were beginning to grow toes. On top of that, when he had finally brought it up to his face, it had changed colour from white to black. Whatever it was, it began swimming in the sack. Moving in circles as it grew in size and changed in colour. Yellow and orange spots appeared over it’s back, it became almost as large as the sack itself, and it moved faster and faster with each rotation. Gabriel’s vision seemed to zoom in to the creature, somehow, and as it reached max speed, the sack burst.

Gabriel opened his eyes with a slight start. He groaned and sat up, catching the attention of Beelzebub who had moved back to their desk to continue work. Their suit was still mostly undone, and they still had all the marks and scratches from their previous excursion. Their icy blue eyes looked him up and down and he felt the air run over his bare chest and groggily he shook his head in an attempt to wake himself further from his daze. He saw Beelzebub’s brow furrow, their eyes focusing on, wait-

“What am I holding?”

“What are you holding?”

They had both spoken at the same time, and they stared at each other briefly before Gabriel swung his legs over the side of the bed. His hands were cupped around something wet, and warm. Beelzebub brought their chair closer, and Gabriel opened his hands.

Sitting in his palm was a salamander. It’s back was a vibrant orange, a red stripe moved from its head all the way down to its tail and its belly was a bright yellow. The colours on the creature matched the colours that now swirled in Gabriel’s eyes. The salamander opened it’s black eyes and looked at Gabriel. He couldn’t explain why, but it seemed happy. 

“What, is this?” Gabriel asked as he looked up at Beelzebub, only to see them fawning over the amphibian in his hands.

“Oh my  _ zatan! _ ” They exclaimed, throwing their hands up and causing several of their flies to start buzzing. “It’z zzo adorable! I can’t believe you were chozen by a zzalamander! It’z zzo cute, look at it!”

“I was chosen?” Gabriel inquired, feeling as the creature began to crawl up his arm. “What do you mean, I was chosen?”

Beelzebub cleared their throat, waving a hand in front of their face as if to reset themself. They breathed once, then twice, calming themself from their excitement. “After the fall each demon iz chozen by an animal. For me it waz them,” they motioned to the flies which had settled back down on their head and shoulders, “a fish choze Dagon, frog choze Hastur, chameleon choze Ligur, and so on.” Beelzebub grinned again, their flies becoming a bit louder. “And a zzalamander choze you!” They exclaimed again, tapping their feet against the floor of their office. 

Gabriel winced as the salamander placed its little feet on his burn scar, but made no motion to move it away. It seemed to, sense his discomfort somehow and quickly moved to the other side of his face. Once there, it crawled up, and then promptly nestled itself in his hair. “So,” he began, clearing his throat. “What do I, ehm, do with it?”

Beelzebub sighed a wistful sigh as they rolled their chair back to their desk. “You enjoy itzz company.” They answered, returning to their paperwork. “And the two of you will have plenty of time to bond on your first azzzignment.”

Gabriel waved his hand, a black suit materializing and wrapping itself around Gabriel’s body. “Assignment?” He asked, bemused.

“Yezz.” Beelzebub said as they seemed to finish their work on a document. “You zzee, Gabriel, I’m giving you a rank.” They swung their chair to face him again, chewing on the end of their pen. 

“Rank? What exactly do you mean by that?” He raised an eyebrow, glancing up at Beelzebub before returning to straightening his suit.

“Zince Duke Ligur waz, well you know.” Beelzebub made a vague motion with their hands, and shuddered. “We’ve been needing zomeone to replace him, and who better than a former high ranking archangel?”

Gabriel curled his lip, feeling his hands start to grow heavy and hot with rage. “Stop reminding me.”

“Look, all I need you to do izz go up there,” they motioned their hand towards the ceiling, “and cauze some chaozz for me.”

Gabriel crossed his arms, the salamander on his head now sticking its nose out to also glare at Beelzebub. “And how, exactly, am I meant to do that?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I had said I was going to show Gabriel actually raising hell on earth, but this chapter was really long already so I figured it'll just go into chapter 6. On a side note, I am accepting any and all potential nicknames for Gabriel's salamander.


End file.
